Chereads / The Star Above / Chapter 25 - Chapter 57: Feelings

Chapter 25 - Chapter 57: Feelings

Willia hesitantly typed the message down and tapped the send button. She let out a sigh as she looked up at the sky. She was now sitting on a bench at the side of a road that lead to the main festival, waiting for Yamaken who had went to grab a drink from a nearby drink selling stall.

"𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺?" She thought to herself, "𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺?"

She let out a sigh again. Even if Willia knew that Kaori would never betray her, knowing her feelings for Wood but she still couldn't hold the anxiety into herself the moment she learned Wood was with Kaori at that time. She wanted to seperate those two. She wanted to make sure that Wood didn't end up asking Kaori out. And this was the only thing that came up in her mind, so she did it.

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘸... 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵..

Willia sniffled, "𝘒𝘢𝘰𝘳𝘪, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺."

"Hey, girl," a cold can of soda touched her cheek.

She looked up to see Yamaken's cheerful smile vanishing as he saw the tears in her eyes. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked in a worried tone, sitting down beside her.

"Yamaken," Willia took the soda and cracked the sill open, "I think I did a bad thing." She chugged down the whole soda in one gulp.

"Oi, slow down, you'll choke!"

She sighed, wiping her mouth, "What should I do now?"

Yamaken stared at Willia's sad looking face for a moment before sitting down back beside her, "Tell me what happened. I'll try to help you."

**********************************************

Robin was walking aimlessly around in the festival because he didn't know how he ended up getting seperated from his friends, Yamaken and Wood. There was just too much crowd in the festival that it was seperating everyone from each other like an enormous wave.

He suddenly spotted someone familiar in the crowd. Walking up to that person he said, "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Hi!" Dylanthy greeted. "Kaori went into the restroom. I'm waiting for her," She answered with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Robin asked in confusion, "Do you know where you're standing right now?"

"Of course," Dylanthy nodded. "I'm waiting for Kaori to come out of the-" She stopped talking as she turned around to look at the female restroom which wasn't there.

She quickly looked around to see that she in fact, wasn't even anywhere near the restroom. The crowd was so pressuring that she had taken a step back from the crowd every time that now made her end up here.

"Oh no! Kaori!" Dylanthy panicked.

Robin chuckled, "Don't worry. I'm sure Kaori will be fine. She must have been in this kind of situation before so she'll be able to control it." He eyed Dylanthy, "Think about yourself. You are now completely lost at an unknown place."

"What do you mean I'm completely lost? Aren't you here with me?" Dylanthy asked blankly.

Robin's eyes widened at her statement, "Ah... Yes... I am.."

"Then there's nothing for me to worry about!" She smiled widely.

That was when both of them felt a buzzing sound of notification go off in their phone.

It was Willia who left a message in the group -

(𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚)

𝘏𝘦𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴, 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘶𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘋𝘺𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦? 𝘒𝘢𝘰𝘳𝘪 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘺𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧..

✔️𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚁𝚘𝚋𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙳𝚢𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚢

Both Robin and Dylanthy made an eye contact before Robin quickly replied -

(𝐌𝐞)

𝘐'𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘒𝘢𝘰𝘳𝘪 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

✔️𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚆𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚊 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙳𝚢𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚢

(𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚)

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘎𝘰𝘥! 𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳!

✔️𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚁𝚘𝚋𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙳𝚢𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚢

He put his phone back in his pocket. "Want to sit somewhere down? It's really crowded here," He asked her politely.

Dylanthy smiled and obliged.

They went over to a coffee shop of the festival and sattled down there. The soft, calm music that was playing inside the shop, the smell of coffee brewing and the sound of coffee being poured into the cup, how the quiet rattling ring follows whenever any customers entered the shop, how the soft murmur between the people sounded; all filled the small coffee shop and made it feel so comfortable and peaceful.

Robin went over to buy the two of them two cups of coffee while Dylanthy let herself stretch on the chair.

"Here," Robin put a cup on the table before Dylanthy, "Your Cappuccino."

"Thanks," She smiled as she took her drink and sipped on it, savouring the warm drink and the feeling of froth with her taste buds.

Robin was also about to take a sip from bis latte when his phone rang. He glanced at the display of the device before apologizing to Dylanthy, "I'm sorry, I have to take this."

"Sure, go ahead," Dylanthy gave him the permission he was asking for.

"Excuse me," He walked outside in hurry.

"𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴?" Thought Dylanthy.

**********************************************

"Eh?" Kaori said out loudly, making Wood look at her with questionable eyes.

"What's wrong?" Wood asked.

Kaori immediately gave him a smile and quickly tried to avoid his question, "No, it's nothing. I wonder when the firework show will start though? I'm so bored.."

Wood looked at her in displease. "I can see you enjoying your phone, though," He copied her typing on the phone.

"Um.."

"I'll go get some water, I'm thirsty," He suddenly said, "Why don't you sit on a bench? Do you want anything? I'll get it for you."

"No," Kaori said, "I'm good."

"Then I'll be right back." Wood left Kaori standing there with her phone.

𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳? 𝘐𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵?

She looked back at her phone again to see the message that was left by Willia. She didn't even say anything else after that, too.

𝘚𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘵, 𝘩𝘶𝘩?

Kaori sighed, typing in some words -

(𝐌𝐞)

𝘎𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

✔️𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍

(𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚)

𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨.

✔️𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍

(𝐌𝐞)

𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺. 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘎𝘗𝘚 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘢. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘚𝘰 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱, 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺? 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬.

✔️𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍

(𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚)

𝘖𝘬𝘢𝘺! 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴, 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭.

✔️𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍

**********************************************

Dylanthy could see Robin talking over his phone as if he was having a heated conversation with someone. He looked upset and he was also yelling over his phone.

"You don't have to call me later!" He could be heard saying loudly, "I'm breaking up with you right now! Good day!" Ending the call, he stomped back into the coffee shop to Dylanthy who was watching him quietly.

"Another girlfriend of yours?" She asked him with an awkward laugh.

He plopped down on the chair before her, "She's not anymore. We broke up. I don't understand what she actually wants me to do? Stick to her like a glue forever? How dare she talk to me in that manner just because I didn't check up on her today? I have my own damn life!"

Dylanthy nodded since she decided not to say anything, taking her cup again.

"I must sound like I'm whining to you," Robin muttered.

Dylanthy was about to take a sip from her drink but she stopped in the middle, her eyes on Robin. She put her cup back down and waited for him to say something more.

"I date girls unconditionally and break up with them after hanging out with them for only days or weeks. I know I just do it for fun," He kept on mumbling. "But here I am, not happy with the fact that she orders me around because I believe I should be the one holding that power. I must look pathetic and like a player to you," He sniffled, sipping his latte to hold himself back from crying in front of a girl, not to mention, his crush.

A sigh came from Dylanthy, "Robin, to be honest.. When we were in middle school, I thought you would turn out to be a great guy when we grow up. I kind of looked up to you. But seeing you turn the complete opposite," She breathed, "Kind of pained my heart."

Robin looked at her in surprise.

𝘐 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳?

"You looked like a good guy, so I couldn't help trying to get to know you better. We had become friends and I knew that you really were a good guy. But now... I don't really know how I can take your side," She admitted. "You know, if you hadn't become like this, maybe I could still stand up for you. But I'm still waiting for a chance. A chance where you'll let me stand up for you again. Because I know, you're still a good guy in the inside."

The two met each other's eyes. So many things untold, but by just one look, they could understand the deep feelings they wanted to share with each other.

"So stop dating all the girls in school just for entertainment. Stop playing with other's feelings. You don't know how you're hurting them but you are. Also stop playing with your own feelings by doing these stuff. And allow me that chance," She finished her sentence with a plead, leaving Robin wordless.

"I.." He tried to speak, "I'm.. Sorry, Dylanthy. I didn't know.."

"It's okay," Dylanthy smiled, "It's not like I thought that you'd know."

𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦.

"By the way," Dylanthy asked with curiosity, "Did you always date the girls just because you wanted to? No feelings worked?"

Robin answered truthfully, "No feelings at all. I just dated them because they wanted to."

Dylanthy made a dissatisfied face, "Oh, I see." "Then, did you ever feel this way towards someone? Something like - where you feel like you could just be with them forever? Until the end of your life? Or maybe you could just spend the rest of your life with that person? Someone who makes your heart beat faster and makes you smile like an idiot for no reason at all? Or someone who's always in your mind in most of the times of the day?"

"Um," Robin gave it a thought. But that's what he regretted doing. Because the answer was easy. However, he didn't want to admit it since he felt guilt for what he did.

Looking up at the girl who was staring at him with bright stars lighting in her eyes, he couldn't hold back anymore.

"You."

"Huh?" Dylanthy asked since she couldn't catch what he said so lowly.

"It's you. The someone in all those questions.... Is you for me," Robin repeated and Dylanthy looked just too surprised to say anything.

**********************************************

"Kaori," Wood handed the small packet of orange juice over to his friend, "For you."

"But I didn't ask for anything," Kaori looked at the packet of juice.

Wood smiled, "I bought it because I thought you'd be thirsty. Take it."

"Thanks. I'll pay you back," Kaori searched in her pockets for money.

"It's okay, don't. I'll feel bad," Wood refused quickly.

As Kaori took the orange juice from him, he fixed himself back on his position before he left.

"I think the firework show will be delayed," Wood informed, "I heard some gossips along the way."

"Oh man!" Kaori huffed, "If only we didn't get seperated, I would be enjoying this festival properly with my friends!"

Wood laughed, "Yeah."

"Hey, Kaori.." He called.

"Hm?"

"I.. Have something to tell you," He faced the girl who was slightly surprised by his sudden change of behaviour but was paying attention to what he was about to say nonetheless.

"And I thought that this would be the perfect time to say it," He looked at her with determination.

**********************************************

"So that's what happened, huh?" Yamaken asked as Willia finished her story.

"Yeah," She said sadly, "I shouldn't have done that, have I? I feel so bad right now. If Kaori was to hear that I did something like this just because of my feelings, she'll feel disappointed in me."

"Yeah?" Said Yamaken, "I don't think you did a bad job, though."

"What?" Willia asked, taken aback by the rising smirk on Yamaken's lips.

"I'd rather say you did a great thing! Good job!" He gave a few praising pats on her head. "Why don't you give me her location? I'll go over to her, meanwhile you two can have your personal chat time."

"Yamaken," Willia began in shock, "Are you saying these for real? Here I thought you'd be yelling at me but you're doing the polar opposite."

"Don't you know?" Yamaken asked back in surprise, "I like Kaori."

**********************************************

"I-"

"Wood!" Kaori stopped him before he could say any farther.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢 𝘶𝘱, 𝘯𝘰𝘸.

"Willia just gave me a message after you left," Kaori said quickly, "She mentioned that she wanted to talk to you personally about something. She also asked me to request you to meet with her and gave me her location since we got seperated for a while now. So she thought that'd be easier for you to reach her."

"Oh?" Wood asked casually, "What did you say?"

𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺.

"I," Kaori said as if she did something wrong, "I told her that you'd go meet her. I'm sorry for not asking for your permission. I should've told uou as soon as you got back. I'm sorry!"

"It's okay," Wood gifted Kaori a smile, "Why don't you send Willia's location to me? I'll be heading there soon after I tell you what I had in mind."

"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?!" Kaori gulped, "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘸?" "Yeah, right," She tried to laugh as she forwarded Willia's message which had her location, to Wood.

Wood was checking the message while Kaori was eyeing him with anxiety visible in her eyes.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰? 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘮?

Wood turned his phone off and put it back in his pocket as he looked up at Kaori, "As I was saying. Kaori, I-"

"Wood," Kaori interrupted again, making him frown slightly. "I think you should get going."

"I will, just let me-"

"She's waiting for you," Kaori said firmly and clearly this time, making Wood's eyes widen.

"Willia is waiting for you," Kaori said again, "So go."

Wood finally gave up on what he was going to to tell Kaori, "Okay, fine. I'll go to her then. Don't get driven away by the crowd and stay here. I'll try to send someone on your way."

Kaori smiled at this, "Boy, I'm not a novice in festivals."

Wood ended up laughing at her statement, "Okay. I'll tell you what I was going to tell you another time, okay? You have to listen to me then!"

"Okay," Kaori replied with a smile, "Tell me later, I'll listen to you."

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘦. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺, 𝘞𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘚𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘐 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴.

Kaori frowned at the figure of Wood that was walking away farther and farther, "I thought we were just friends. When did I make an impression of that kind on him?"

**********************************************

"Hey, Tom, look!" Melissa pointed at a certain way, pulling him by his sleeve.

While the others ran into each other again by pairs, these two were the pair who met up by chance, too. They were okay with each other, so they've been hanging out alone in the festival without wasting their time. They were having a good time as well.

Tom looked over at the way Melissa was pointing to see Dylanthy and Robin walking that way together.

"What the-? How come they're together?" Tom asked in surprise.

Melissa agreed in wonder, "Yeah, let's talk to them!"

The two walked up to the other two. Dylanthy and Robin immediately recognized Tom and Melissa that Dylanthy came running to Melissa and Robin waved at the other two.

"Hey!" Tom threw his hand over Robin's shoulder, "What are you two doing together?"

Dylanthy answered first, "You don't know? I got seperated from Kaori. Willia had left a message in the group about it, too."

"Yeah," Robin agreed with her.

"Really?" Asked Melissa, "I didn't get anything."

"How would you?" Tom reminded her, "We don't have any network in our phone."

"Yeah, dude," Robin said in annoyance, "Why is the network so bad in here?"

"Not just me," Dylanthy said again, "Everyone got seperated from their original group and ended up with someone else. By the way, now that we're altogether, let's have some fun!"

"Sure!" The other three strongly agreed.

**********************************************

"Hey."

Kaori glanced at her side to see Yamaken who had slipped quietly right beside her and was leaning on the railing now.

"Oh, hey," Kaori said in surprise, "How did you come here?"

Yamaken replied in a proud manner, "Willia was meeting up with Wood, so I thought it'd be better to leave those two alone. So here I am!"

"No, who told you to be here?" Kaori said in displease, "Go have fun on your own."

"You rudey," Yamaken muttered audibly.

"Like I care," Kaori went back to staring at the sky

"How long are you going to stare at that sky?" Yamaken said in annoyance, "Doesn't it make you bored? There's no fireworks to enjoy either."

"The sky is beautiful on its own," Said Kaori, "It doesn't need fireworks to make itself attractive. I love watching the sky, that's why I don't get bored of it."

"I'd rather have you staring at me," He mumbled, "It's frustrating that you don't even look at the one you are talking with."

This worked like a magic on Kaori. She turned her head to Yamaken and started staring at him as if he was the sky now.

"H-hey, stop staring," Yamaken said awkwardly.

"Heh," Smirking at his comment, she said, "You told me to stare at your face rather than at the sky. Whatever. You have something to tell me, don't you? Stop beating around the bush and spill the beans."

"Ugh, you always leave me wordless," Yamaken remarked at Kaori. "Anyway, I want you to be more composed around other boys," He blurted.

"Huh?" Kaori turned at Yamaken seriously this time, "What do you mean?"

"It's because you are so nice and sweet to everyone that they now started to develop mixed feelings for you," He said lowly.

Kaori was the one left wordless right now, "What? Wait, you heard us? For how long have you been here?"

He began fidgeting, "I didn't mean to overhear. But it's true! You should keep your distance from other boys! Specially when it's him!"

"Why? Why should I?" Asked Kaori, looking up at his eyes now.

"No reason. Just because I said so," He replied bluntly.

Kaori smirked again, "Oh? Then let me ask you, why are you even bothered? Why do you care about these at all?"

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴... 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘦, 𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘺.

"Why shouldn't I care?" He tried to give her the answer through a question. "Am I not allowed to care for these?"

"Hey, I didn't say that-"

𝘜𝘨𝘩, 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘪𝘵! 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴!

"Because I'm jealous," He cut her off, "It's because I get jealous when I see you with him." As he confessed, Kaori had lost her words for the second time.

With a surprised look in her eyes and her slightly parted lips that tried to form words but failed, she made an unbreakable eye contact with Yamaken.

"Oh my, look at those two lovebirds!"

Kaori calmly looked at the sideways from the corner of her eyes while Yamaken made a big deal out of the statement.

It was Dylanthy, Tom, Robin and Melissa. They had found Kaori and Yamaken, too, making the group half completed again.

The four ran over to the other two and joined them as they bickered about the topic before. They laughed, they got excited and they loved each other's company.

However, Kaori was still worried for the other two of the group.

**********************************************

Yamaken had left Willia for quite a while now, but she was still waiting for Wood at the same place. The time was passing by but Wood still wasn't showing up that Willia was about to leave and search for the others when he finally showed up.

"Ah, Wood!" She called him over when she she saw him afar.

He had seen her, too. The two walked up to each other. As the two gradually walked closer, an unknown worry took over Willia while Wood looked tired.

𝘈𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴? 𝘐𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘺...?

Willia held Wood's arm, "Hey, what's wrong? Why are you-?" She was cut off by him as he quietly placed his head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," He whispered, "But can we please stay like this for some time?"

**********************************************

Kaori checked her phone for the third time to see if there was any message from Wood or Willia but there was none. She had even given them a few calls but none was answered. She was getting worried that those two still hadn't shown up.

"𝘞𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦. 𝘚𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵, 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺?" She thought worriedly.

"Hey!" Tom called his friends as he returned from a stall owner after asking for some information, "He said that the fireworks show will start soon! All of us should gather up quick. Call Willia and Wood to come here!"

"I think they are out of reach," Kaori said at this. "I've been trying calling them for a while now."

"We have to wait for them to return," Said Melissa, "Let's wait patiently. I think they'll be here soon!"

Yamaken tapped Melissa on the shoulder, "Isn't that them?" He pointed at the two figures who were walking up to them.

Indeed, it was Wood and Willia. The two only laughed awkwardly when everyone was enquiring them about where they were. So Kaori couldn't understand if anything happened between them or not.

But that didn't stay in her mind for too long. Because they hadd all gathered by the railing side by side and waited for the sky to illuminate with fireworks by any moment now.

And there it popped off. The first firework of the festival; completing this day as another day of their friendship, another day of fun and another day of new memories.

**********************************************

The eight were walking to the exit after the firework show ended. But Kaori accidentally bumped into someone on the way. Due to this sudden force of the bump, the phone that was in the other girl's hand started to fall. But Kaori was quick enough to catch it before it fell halfway.

"Sorry!" She apologized instantly, handing the phone to the girl who looked to be in awe by Kaori's reflex instead.

"Your reflex is really good!" The stranger complimented Kaori with enthusiasm.

Kaori gave her the best smile that was in her stock, "Aw, thank you! I apologize for bumping into you again!"

"It's okay," The girl with blue eyes and short brown hair, replied in a happy tone.

The girls bowed at each other slightly as the other girl and her friends walked away from Kaori and her friends. But their conversation could be heard clearly which caught Kaori's attention that she looked back at them over her shoulder.

"Hey, Nanami," The girl Kaori had bumped into said to another cute looking girl with braids, "Don't you think she had a really stunning face? She's super pretty!"

"Yeah, I wonder if she's a model?" The girl named Nanami said, "Right, Sakura?" She asked the girl with a ponytail.

"She's not a model," Sakura replied, "But she has definitely an astonishing look indeed."

"Hey, you three!" A boy with a head full of black hair and blue eyes demanded, "Why are you complimenting a stranger's look so highly? You have an astonishing beauty right here with you. Look at my Yuuko!"

"Since when did I become yours? Do you have a death wish?"

"Don't say those kind of stuff in the open! Kyou, Senjou, Mashio and Mitsuko are all laughing at me now!"

"You deserve to be laughed at," Yuuko said in satisfaction, "So stop whining and fix your language about me!"

"Should you really be the one saying that right now?"

At this, all of the eight of them had bursted out laughing; making Kaori smile a little, too.

"They're so rude and loud," Yamaken commented, "Specially that boy with blue eyes."

"Hm," Kaori was still smiling.

"Why are you smiling?" Dylanthy asked her.

Tom also agreed, "That boy said bad stuff about you, too."

"Don't bother with that," Kaori said casually, "Just by looking at them, I can tell what kinds of persons they are. So I didn't really take their comments to heart. However, don't you think they're a lot like us? The friendship between them."

"Huh?"

"Somehow, I feel familiarity with them," Kaori smiled again, walking through the exit of the festival with her friends.

The soft Japanese style music was still ringing in the air as the wind blew away some of the leaves of the trees nearby, leaving the green pages of the day to be left behind.

⭐🌟⭐❤⭐❤⭐❤⭐❤⭐❤⭐❤⭐🌟⭐